DETROIT — Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens formally endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate on Sunday, withdrawing her support for Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed two days before voters cast ballots in a race that could determine control of the chamber.
Stevens made the announcement in a video posted to X after attending a Sunday service with Rogers at Perfecting Church, a predominantly Black congregation in Detroit. “Hey Michigan, as you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said I’m no longer welcome in his campaign, and I should stay away, and he’s right,” Stevens said. “And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign.” She added that she does not stand with figures such as Hasan Piker who have appeared with El-Sayed.
The move ends a fragile truce that followed the August Democratic primary, which El-Sayed won by less than one percentage point. Stevens endorsed him shortly afterward, but tensions reemerged in recent days over an outside-group advertisement that Stevens described as antisemitic and over El-Sayed’s associations. On Saturday, El-Sayed’s campaign asked Stevens to stay away from joint events. She responded by appearing with Rogers instead of the previously planned Democratic gathering.
Stevens told reporters she remains a proud Democrat but stated she cannot support El-Sayed’s campaign. Rogers is the former congressman and FBI agent backed by President Trump. The open seat, vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, is among the contests that forecasters identify as pivotal for Senate control. El-Sayed, a progressive physician and former Detroit health director, has drawn support from the party’s left flank; Stevens has positioned herself as a centrist and a supporter of Israel.
Democratic officials described the endorsement as a rare last-minute cross-party break by a sitting member of Congress. El-Sayed’s campaign has not issued a detailed response beyond earlier statements rejecting Stevens’s criticisms of the advertisement. The final two days of the race will now include a sitting Democrat openly urging voters to elect the Republican nominee.
— Josiah Hale, WAA1776
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